{"id":510383,"date":"2026-01-07T22:49:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T22:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/510383\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T22:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T22:49:11","slug":"royals-sign-utility-player-to-minor-league-deal-on-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/510383\/","title":{"rendered":"Royals Sign Utility Player to Minor League Deal on Wednesday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/roundtable.io\/sports\/mlb\/royals\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kansas City Royals<\/a> have not made a major splash in MLB free<br \/>\nagency, yet the front office continues to search for ways to win between the<br \/>\nmargins. <\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Kansas City made another move, signing utility player<br \/>\nJosh Rojas to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training, according<br \/>\nto Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Rojas has played seven seasons in MLB, suiting up for the Arizona<br \/>\nDiamondbacks, Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox. The 31-year-old is a<br \/>\nleft-handed hitter with experience across the infield and outfield corners,<br \/>\nthough defensive metrics have consistently rated him below average at shortstop<br \/>\nand third base. <\/p>\n<p>His best stretch came with the Diamondbacks, splitting time<br \/>\nbetween second base, third base and left field. In 2021, Rojas posted a .264<br \/>\nbatting average, .341 on-base percentage and .752 OPS with 11 home runs and<br \/>\n44 RBIs across 139 appearances. The Royals are hoping he can rediscover that<br \/>\nlevel of production if he earns a spot on the 40-man roster.<\/p>\n<p>Kansas City reportedly had interest in Rojas last offseason<br \/>\nbefore he signed with the White Sox. His stint in Chicago was brief and<br \/>\ndisappointing, as he hit just .180\/.252\/.259 in 69 games before being<br \/>\ndesignated for assignment and released in August. Despite those struggles, the<br \/>\nRoyals see value in his versatility and veteran presence, particularly as they<br \/>\nlook to solidify their bench heading into 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The current roster construction leaves room for competition.<br \/>\nJonathan India is expected to handle second base, Maikel Garcia is locked in at<br \/>\nthird, and Isaac Collins projects as the starter in left field. <\/p>\n<p>The club is<br \/>\nalso hoping for a breakout from Jac Caglianone in right field. Rojas offers<br \/>\ndepth at all of those positions, giving manager Matt Quatraro flexibility<br \/>\nduring spring training. If he can rediscover his offensive consistency, he<br \/>\ncould carve out a role as a utility option.<\/p>\n<p>This signing reflects Kansas City\u2019s broader offseason<br \/>\nstrategy: targeting low-cost veterans who can compete for roster spots while<br \/>\npreserving payroll flexibility. While Rojas is not expected to be a game-changer, his ability to play multiple positions and provide left-handed balance<br \/>\ncould prove useful if injuries or underperformance strike the roster.\n<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Rojas will need to hit his way onto the team once spring training<br \/>\nbegins. For a Royals club seeking incremental improvements, his signing is another<br \/>\nexample of the front office working to strengthen depth without committing to<br \/>\nlong-term contracts.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Kansas City Royals have not made a major splash in MLB free agency, yet the front office&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2387],"tags":[5,936,2123,55,2596,2595,4,252],"class_list":{"0":"post-510383","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kansas-city-royals","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-kansas","10":"tag-kansas-city","11":"tag-kansas-city-royals","12":"tag-kansascity","13":"tag-kansascityroyals","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-royals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115856262131001778","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}